The Thirteenth Hour
by jenelin
Summary: Thirteen years after Sarah's visit, Jareth's kingdom is about to fall.  A one-shot Jareth/Sarah thing.


**_The Thirteenth Hour_**

**by jenelin**

_Author's note: _Labyrinth_ does not belong to me. Sarah does not belong to me. Jareth does not belong to me. Such a pity. Celyran, however, does (as if you wanted to steal him). I always meant to write a Jareth/Sarah story, but I never got around to it. Then I just sat down one night, and this little one-shot thing came out. Takes place thirteen years after the movie. Inspiration came first from "This is the blue hour", a line in _The Blue Hour_, a play by David Mamet. This is the thirteenth hour. Enjoy._

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Lightning flashes through the sky. Thunder shakes the ground. There is a cry, piercing the night. Darkness, silent and deadly, creeps into the world. Blackness. 

And slowly, softly, the sound of wings fills the void. 

This is the thirteenth hour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awakening, Sarah reached over, expecting to feel a warm body beside her. There was nothing. 

He had been there a moment before. 

Her head cleared as sleep fell away. He had not been there. There had been nobody. 

She hated her dreams. 

For thirteen years she had been haunted by him. He had been a dream to begin with. Just the foolish fantasy of a lonely child. She should not still remember the imagined touch of his hands. 

But in dreams reason always lost, and he came to her, beautiful and cold. 

And so she hated her dreams. 

It was still dark outside. Pulling her blankets close, Sarah curled back up in her bed. The clock in the hall began to chime. Eleven times it sounded, and Sarah was asleep. Then came two more. 

This is the thirteenth hour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A light shone in the darkness. A crystal, held in a pale hand. A king, his kingdom plunged into nothingness. And the sound of wings came closer. The light of the crystal wavered. 

An eagle landed, giant and golden, before the king. "You are afraid," it said. 

There was no answer. 

A moment of transformation, and the eagle was replaced by a man. His hair was black; his clothes of the finest gold. His form was young, but when he spoke, his voice was as old as the ages. "You are afraid." 

Still, there was no reply. 

"Come, Jareth. You knew the rules." 

The light in the crystal went out. 

"I created this land. I created your life, little Goblin King. It was your job to gain a queen." 

Jareth spoke quietly. "There was one. But she denied me." 

"It speaks." The man's clothes shimmered in the dark, brighter and brighter. The land was revealed, sandy nothingness stretching endlessly. 

"I loved her, Celyran," whispered Jareth. 

"It has been thirteen years. And you have just sat here, brooding in your little world. You did not try to find another." 

"There is no other." 

"No," said Celyran. "I suppose not. But the time has come. You knew it would happen. I am not unjust, for you have always known the agreement. If you have no queen at the end of thirteen hundred years, I take your kingdom away. You are left with nothing. I created this world to be ruled by two, and you have failed to produce another." 

"Has it been so long already?" 

"Almost." Celyran smiled. "As I said, I am not unjust. The end is near, but there is still time. Go, Jareth, if you wish. Try to win your queen." 

Despair filled Jareth's eyes. "I fear she will not want to see me." 

"I am giving you a chance, little king. One last chance to keep your existence. One last chance to be happy. I suggest that you take it. I do not have to be this merciful." 

Jareth walked away from the man. "I will go to her." He disappeared into the darkness. 

"Go quickly," Celyran called after him. "For your time is short." 

In the distance, a clock chimed, and Celyran prepared to fly away. 

"This is the thirteenth hour." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah had awakened at the sound of the wind. It rattled the windows, rushing and whistling around the house. 

"Damn," she muttered. "I'll never be able to get back to sleep now." 

The window blew open. 

"Damn," she repeated, getting up to close it. She pulled it with all her might, but the window would not budge. Then she noticed the white owl sitting in the tree. 

"It can't be you," she said, backing away. "You are not real." 

The owl flew in the window, which slammed shut behind it. And then he stood there, beautiful and cold. 

And certainly not a dream. 

But there was something different. He looked tired, worn out. Defeated. 

Perhaps he looked much like she felt. 

"Jareth." 

"Sarah." His voice was thin and held none of the magic she remembered from the dreams of her youth. 

"I hate you." 

"I'm sorry." 

Sarah spat at him. "Sorry? You...you have haunted my dreams for thirteen years. Thirteen years of hell. Did you think I would ever forgive you?" 

"Not really. But I am sorry, though it is not my fault you have dreamt of me. I have not interfered with your life since you left my kingdom." 

"You should not have entered my life to begin with." 

"You wished for me to." 

Sarah was silent. The wind had stopped. Jareth looked very sad. "Why have you come?" 

"My kingdom has fallen into darkness. You are my only hope. I...I need you, Sarah. Without you, I will disappear." 

Sarah frowned. This was a Jareth she did not know. Gone was the cruelty, the majesty. The man who stood before her now was broken, pathetic. 

"I once wanted you to be my queen. I loved you, Sarah. I once offered you your dreams. I would have given you the world. Now...I have nothing." 

"Then why have you come?" 

"To offer you myself. Nothing more." 

A tear fell, unheeded, from Sarah's eye. 

Jareth gently brushed it away. "Why do you cry?" 

"You offer me yourself, but you do not offer me your love. If you had..." 

"I love you. I offer you my love now." 

Sarah smiled bitterly. "It is too late, Jareth. If you had spoken of love first, I may have forgiven you. I may have returned it." 

"Why can you not do so now?" 

"You offered me yourself, but you say you are nothing. And how can I love nothing? I can give you my pity, nothing more." 

"But love could have returned love?" 

"Perhaps." 

He stepped closer to her, and she did not back away. He did not frighten her. Something flashed in his eyes, and he bent his head over hers. The kiss was expected, but the feelings that came with it were not. His lips were cold, colder than ice, but her mind was filled with warmth. She felt the years of passion he held within him, the sadness and despair. 

And in return he felt her longing, her need for love, her need for peace. He deepened the kiss, taking in her taste. She did not resist, and she did not respond. 

She watched him. His eyes were closed, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. Perhaps... 

Lightly, she began to return the pressure of his kiss, but as she did so, he broke away. 

"I am sorry," he whispered. "But I wanted something beautiful at the end of my existence." 

"You are so different." 

"Because of you. Your rejection left me like this." 

Sarah gave a cry. "Please! Do not blame me." 

"I did love you, Sarah." 

She took his cold hand in hers. "I know. And I'm sorry." 

He pulled his hand away gently. "Forget me, if you can." And he was gone. 

Sarah ran to the window, but she could see nothing. "I could not forget you." 

She put a hand to her lips, remembered the feeling of his soul locked in the kiss. "What have I done?" 

Desperately, she flung open the window. The night was silent; the sky was black. "Jareth! Jareth! Please!" 

The sky remained black; the night remained silent. 

Sarah, despair in her eyes, curled up on her bed and wept. 

In the night sky, a crystal moon slowly appeared. 

This is the thirteenth hour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celyran waited for him in the endless desert. 

"I have failed," Jareth told him. "She will not return my love." 

"Will she not?" Celyran produced a crystal, large and bright. In it Jareth saw his departure from Sarah's room, her desperate cries out the window, her flood of tears. 

From across the worlds, he heard her whisper through her sobs. "I love you." 

And his long-despairing heart came to life. "Is it not too late?" 

"Listen," said Celyran. "The clock strikes." 

The sand swirled around their feet. A crystal moon appeared in the sky. 

"Your queen comes," Celyran cried. "She comes!" 

Sarah's form, nearly invisible at first, appeared on the ground. Her cries came as whispers on the wind. And then she was there, tangible and real. Jareth knelt beside her, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. 

"You," she gasped. "You came back." 

"No. You came to me." 

Sarah wrapped her arms around him. "It is not too late?" 

"It appears not." He kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you changed your mind." 

Sarah looked at him, and was glad to see a spark of the king she remembered. 

The world around them changed, shifting and brightening. A castle, white and shining, grew in the distance. Around it was an endless garden, green and lush. Jareth smiled, truly smiled, and the despair left him. He grasped Sarah's hand tightly, noticing that years of sadness had melted away from her. "Come, my Queen. Let us walk in our kingdom." 

Overhead, a golden eagle glided. A creator rejoiced that his kingdom was finally as he meant it to be. 

Somewhere, a clock sounded. A single chime. 

It is the first hour. 

A new age has begun.   
  
  



End file.
